5 Free Online Tools for Creating Incredible Social Media Images

09 Jun 2017

In the 2010 superhero movie, Megamind, the main character proudly states “All it matters is presentation”. And true to its very core, presentation really matters. So whether it’s a mere status update or a post promoting ideas and thoughts, it needs to be presented beautifully and concisely.

1. Stencil

The first on our list is Stencil. Stencil is loaded with beautiful images, little icons, wonderful quotes, and templates. So, if you want to share a quote, select the picture and fill in the quote and bam, you’re done.

What’s more, you can even upload your own watermark into the tool and use it on your images.

However, much of Stencil is hidden behind a paywall. Features like Templates and many of the photos are locked and can only be accessed once you upgrade to the paid plan of $9/month. This plan lets you use 990,000+ photos and create up to 50 images per month, along with other features.

On the bright side, the search is fantastic and takes no time in fetching results. Plus, most of the elements can be dragged and dropped without fuss, thus allowing you to create a beautiful image in no time.

2. Pablo

If you religiously post on Facebook, Instagram or any of the social media platforms, I bet you’d need more than 10 images per month limit that Stencil offers. Coming to the rescue is Pablo, from the house of social media management app Buffer.

The good thing about Pablo is that it’s free and doesn’t demand registration. Its USP is creating beautiful images with text. Right from stunning sunsets to icy greens — you can pretty much find everything in its stock of over 6000 beautiful images.

And if you have equally stunning pictures of your own, just upload and write away!

What’s more, the tool gives you an amazing range of fonts to choose from and the different size variants for Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest.

3. Snappa

Snappa is another tool for creating excellent images. Compared to the above two, Snappa’s features are immense. Here, you can choose to create images for Blogging, Social media ads or even YouTube thumbnails.

Aforesaid, the features are immense, so you get the option for attractive background images (from plants to yoga), a large collection of fonts, patterns, graphics and even shapes.

The best thing about this tool is that most of the features are free, although it does contain a premium model ($10/month) which unlocks even a larger set of images.

All in all, Snappa is a great tool if you are just starting out and contains just the right features and tools.

4.Recite

Next on our list is Recite. Recite is a tad different from the above and lets you create quote images. You might think that it’s similar to Pablo, however, it’s not.

First things first, you have to provide a quote and Recite will put them in a variety of templates and nowhere you’ll find two templates to be the same. They come in all shapes and sizes and don’t be surprised if you find your quote inside a mockup of a cute little smartphone.

Recite is free to use and doesn’t have a pro version, However, all images carry a Recite watermark.

5. Canva

The last on our list is the much popular designing tool, Canva. Canva packs in a diverse set of features and stunning images. So, whether it’s a Facebook post or a new diet plan to pin to Pinterest, it has all the necessary layouts and designs neatly laid out.

And it isn’t only limited to individuals, you can also collaborate with your team members. Beyond the free images, you can also opt for the paid ones which are about a dollar each. And yeah, if you want neither, feel free to upload one of yours and unleash your creativity with all the beautiful fonts and backgrounds.

The free plan lets you access over 8000 templates and gives 1GB free storage. An upgrade of $12.95 per user/month will let you access over 300,000 free photos and templates and unlimited storage.

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Written By

An engineer turned tech writer, Namrata used to write software codes before turning to a career in tech- writing. She is passionate about travelling, food and reading about cool new stuff. Apart from that, she holds a bachelors degree in I.T and hails from Guwahati.